Statement by Jean-Marc Ayrault, French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development

September 5 2016

"I welcome the fact that Lyon was named "Europe’s Leading City Break Destination" by the World Travel Awards’ panel of judges on 4 September.

Lyon attracts 5.5 million visitors each year - 2 million more than 10 years ago. Lyon’s hotel occupancy rate increased to 65% in the first seven months of 2016.

This is the fruit of a proactive policy conducted by the city of Lyon and professionals, with state support. After the registration of the ‘Vieux Lyon’ on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988, the focus was on quality of reception, in particular hotel offerings. All this, including the work that has been done in promoting this destination, account for a large part in the success that Lyon has achieved in terms of tourism. I want to stress in particular the importance of the contrat de destination (1) “Only Lyon”, signed in 2014 with the state to define a strategy for promoting tourism and gastronomy.

These efforts are in line with the priority areas identified at national level: the digital sector, visitor experience, training and investment. In the autumn I shall convene the second annual tourism conference to take stock of how these are being implemented./."

(1) contrats de destination are “contracts” between, for example, local authorities, tourism bodies, transport operators etc. which, thanks to financial and technical support from the state and Atout France, are designed to speed up the development of areas into tourist destinations.

Lyon, the gastronomic capital of France, with its ‘bouchons lyonnais’, where everyone can find a local meal that suits their taste (andouillettes, coussins de Lyon, cervelas lyonais, etc.), offers a multitude of places to visit such as les Traboules or la Place Bellecour.

Did you know that the Brothers Lumière, the inventors of the moving pictures, were from Lyon? To know more about this city, click here and read ‘Rendez-vous in Lyon’.